The Value of Interdisciplinary Research to Advance Paradox in Organization Theory*
Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Organizational Paradox: Learning from Belief and Science, Part A
ISBN: 978-1-80117-184-7, eISBN: 978-1-80117-183-0
Publication date: 8 July 2021
Abstract
Over the past decades, scholars advanced foundational insights about paradox in organization theory. In this double volume, we seek to expand upon these insights through interdisciplinary theorizing. We do so for two reasons. First, we think that now is a moment to build on those foundations toward richer, more complex insights by learning from disciplines outside of organization theory. Second, as our world increasingly faces grand challenges, scholars turn to paradox theory. Yet as the challenges become more complex, authors turn to other disciplines to ensure the requisite complexity of our own theories. To advance these goals, we invited scholars with knowledge in paradox theory to explore how these ideas could be expanded by outside disciplines. This provides a both/and opportunity for paradox theory: both learning from outside disciplines beyond existing boundaries and enriching our insights in organization scholarship. The result is an impressive collection of papers about paradox theory that draws from four outside realms – the realm of belief, the realm of physical systems, the realm of social structures, and the realm of expression. In this introduction, we expand on why paradox theory is ripe for interdisciplinary theorizing, explore the benefits of doing so, and introduce the papers in this double volume.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Editor Michael Lounsbury for encouraging us to take on this project. Our special thanks to all the fabulous authors in this double volume – your work is truly inspiring! We further thank Marco Berti and Pedro Brinca for ideas that served as inputs to our discussion. Miguel Cunha acknowledges support from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2013, UID/ECO/00124/2019), Social Sciences DataLab (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022209), POR Lisboa (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007722, LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022209), and POR Norte (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022209). Miguel Cunha and Jonathan Schad acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 856688).
Citation
Bednarek, R., e Cunha, M.P., Schad, J. and Smith, W. (2021), "The Value of Interdisciplinary Research to Advance Paradox in Organization Theory
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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